I got stuck on the last sentence of verse 18 today, and I believe that God was speaking to me on this subject: …”Their guilt for these sins brought the Lord’s anger on Judah and Jerusalem”. Although I couldn’t find a whole lot on this particular verbiage in my commentaries, I believe that God was very angry over the people ignoring the warning system He built into them – their guilt about the sin they were committing. Often the guilt about something we have done, or perhaps currently doing, will make us sick mentally, worse than the effects of the sinful act itself. God placed that trigger in us for a purpose and when we blatantly ignore that, I believe that it really angers Him, as illustrated in this verse studied herein. Oh Lord, I pray that we might clear our conscience and allow You to openly work in us through the internal triggers You have uniquely built into us. Please help us to not ignore these triggers, but to use them as indicators of when we have crossed the line and are perhaps doing something that displeases You. Please forgive us for the times we have committed that sin anyway, in spite of our guilt. We never want to displease You dear God, so please help us to be victors in our actions, because of  Your strength, and through the power of the triggers You have built into us.